One of New Jersey's 12 most wanted fugitives, suspected in the 2007 beating death of a man in Plainfield, has been captured in Guatemala.

Union County prosecutors announced Tuesday that Welder "Dario" Morente Dubon was arrested last week in the death of 23-year-old Joseph Tremarco.

The road to justice began the day his body was discovered inside his pick-up truck in North Plainfield nine years ago.

"Knowing that his killer was still on the loose has been hard for my husband," mom Debra Tremarco said. "As the protector of the family, he felt he let his son down."

It took nearly a decade, but it was never really a cold case because the hunt for the now 30-year-old suspect had never stopped.

"Over the years, tips and sightings were called in," acting Union County Prosecutor Grace Park said. "We traveled to states and countries to follow leads."

The manhunt came to an end in Guatemala, and Dubon is expected to be extradited back to New Jersey in the next few months.

"From years of studying his photo and working the case, I knew as soon as I saw the picture that we had our man," US Marshal Christopher Manna said.

Tremarco owned a scrap metal business, police say he met up with Dubon at a Plainfield tire shop where the suspect worked on March 29, 2007. Their business meeting went horribly wrong, and Tremarco was beaten to death, tossed into his truck, driven to North Plainfield and discovered the next day.

Dubon was charged with murder, but he couldn't be found in a case profiled on "America's Most Wanted." Tremarco was engaged at the time he was murdered.

"Our hearts will ache forever," Debra Tremarco said. "But knowing his killer is caught, we will rest easier. We are forever thankful. Bless you all."